Yearly Archives: 2016 (Page 3)

Many people see the value of having a written plan in theory, yet have trouble actually writing out plans for their own projects. This is usually because they either don’t know where to begin, or because they believe that the plan will change so frequently that it doesn’t make sense to document.

However, even if you believe those two statements to be true for your business or project, it’s still helpful to have a written plan. Here are three reasons why:

1. Putting your plan on paper will help you to formulate it more completely. All those things you don’t know – you’ll have to start thinking about them in order to write them down. That thinking will help move you forward in your plan. As you move forward, other questions will arise, helping you to further flesh out your plan in order to get it on paper. If you need help to get started, you can find plenty of business and project plan examples online.

2. You’ll have to commit. Writing a plan down helps you to commit to certain tasks and time frames. This kind of commitment helps prevent floundering, which stalls a project’s progression.

3. You’ll be accountable. Writing down your plan and reviewing and revising it periodically will help hold you accountable to yourself to do the things you need to do. It will also help you to stay on top of where your project is heading compared to where you originally thought.

It Doesn’t Have to be Perfect

Don’t avoid having a written plan because you know it won’t be perfect. Nobody’s original plan for a project or business is perfect. Make a commitment to reviewing the plan at certain intervals and make updates as you go. Sometimes, learning what doesn’t work is as important as learning the things that do work. Seeing your plans written down, and how you’ve revised and updated these over time can be very valuable in moving forward in your project and in preparing for future projects, so be sure to keep each revision of your plan as documentation.

Written plans can be a great way to document your journey on a project or a business. These plans can serve as both a roadmap to help you get where you’re going and a record of how you’ve achieved your goals.

Good listening skills are one of the most important traits of a successful leader. By listening intently to what others say, you can learn a great deal of valuable information that can help you learn, and that often can help the person talking to you, as well.

One way to improve both your listening skills and your credibility as a good listener is to learn to listen without judgment. When others can trust you to listen without judgment, they will be more likely to confide in you and seek your feedback.

Listening without judgment means not jumping to conclusions or forming opinions about what is being said. This form of listening allows you to absorb all of the material being presented to you, rather than making a decision about what you hear midway through the conversation.

To improve your skills in listening without judgment, try the following tips.

1. Don’t interrupt. Don’t jump in to finish the person’s sentence, even though you may think it shows that you understand what the person is saying. Don’t ask questions, unless these are absolutely necessary to clarify what is being said.

2. Ask appropriate clarification questions when the person is finished in order to ensure you understand what is being said.

3. Ask “Why” a person feels the way they do if you don’t understand.

4. Do not give feedback, unless specifically asked.

5. Never tell a person he or she is wrong for their feelings.

Of course, you will form opinions on the things you hear. You may need to take action on what you hear and even decide if what you’ve heard is inappropriate or outside important rules in some way. However, by listening without making judgment until the end of the conversation, you will have a more complete perspective before you form an opinion. You will give yourself the opportunity to understand the person’s motives and feelings behind their words.

Learning to listen without judging will make you a better and more respected leader. It will also give you better decision making skills because you will have a much better understanding of circumstances before you decide. Take the time to hone your listening skills- it’s a practice you will be happy you did.

The ability to hold yourself accountable to your commitments each and every time is difficult to do, but will help you to increase your effectiveness and productivity by leaps and bounds.

Self-mastery requires essentially holding yourself to a “no excuses” level of accountability – even on commitments you’ve made only to yourself. This level of self-discipline will help you in several ways.

1. You’ll be more productive. If you never wimp out on what you’ve decided to do, you will accomplish more in your business and personal life.

2. You will make commitments more thoughtfully. Once you have internalized being so accountable, you’ll find that you don’t rush to make commitments. This helps you to prioritize your life more appropriately.

3. You will improve your reputation with peers, employees and personal contacts. A person who always keeps his or her commitments is viewed as particularly credible.
   

How Do I Increase My Self Mastery?

Of course, all of this is more easily said than done. Particularly when you’ve only promised yourself you’ll complete a task, it is easy to find many excuses to put the task off or forego it altogether. There are some simple ways, however, to help increase your chances of sticking to the commitments you make.

1. Believe in what you are doing. It’s much harder to flake on a commitment when you truly believe in the overall goal you are trying to reach. For example, before committing to volunteering your time to a charitable organization, be certain that you are really passionate about the cause. When you have that passion, it’s much easier to live out the commitment than when you are “ho-hum” about the cause. You don’t have to say “yes” to everything.

2. Plan and Schedule. Double booking yourself or failing to consider your other commitments can make it very difficult for you to do everything you’ve promised. Schedule your time for every commitment you make – even those you make to yourself. For example, if you’ve committed to working out more regularly, make an appointment on your calendar to go to the gym. This won’t automatically make you more excited about working out, but it will eliminate the excuse that you don’t have the time. Schedule time with family and down time for yourself, too.
   

3. Share your commitments with others. Use your family and friends to help you stay accountable. Share your goals with them and ask them to check in with you about how you’re doing. Keeping your commitments to yourself a secret only makes it easier for you to let these fall by the wayside. Having an accountability buddy can also be a great support system.

Personal accountability is a challenge for many people. Things like scheduling too many things, being tired or needing down time can all get in the way of keeping up with your commitments. But, when you plan appropriately and examine the commitments you’re making, it’s much easier to do what you say you

Summer is the season of vacations. Kids are generally out of school, and the weather is warm. But, for busy leaders, the idea of taking a vacation from the day to day activities can be stressful, and may make you feel a little guilty. That feeling is common, but not necessarily in the best interest of your work or personal life.  Here are three reasons you need to take that vacation this year without wasting a minute worrying about it.

1. Your brain and your body need rest. No one can go at full speed forever without suffering both physically and mentally. A well planned vacation, where you take time to ensure that everything back at the office is under control may be just the thing that prevents a poorly timed emergency illness. Your emotional and physical health will thank you for the little getaway. You may not even realize how exhausted you are until you take the time to relax.

2. You will come back with a fresh perspective. Time away helps you to distance yourself from the everyday annoyances and problems of the workplace. By doing so, you often see these issues in a more productive light. You may find that you are able to make some much needed changes upon return from a good vacation. You may also find that you see simple solutions to problems that have been plaguing you for weeks at work.

3. Your career is not the only thing in your life. Many successful leaders lose family and friendships along the way because of overwork. Don’t let your desire to climb the corporate ladder cause you to risk the relationship with your family and friends. A week or so away helps you to strengthen those family bonds and reminds you of what’s most important.

Vacations are important for many reasons. Truly successful people live a balanced life that allows time for all the things that are important. This allows you to keep a good attitude about both your work and your home life, ensuring that all your relationships remain intact. In addition, taking that time to enjoy some down time will often make you a much more rested and productive leader when you return to the office.

Your integrity is an important part of your personal brand. Most leaders have the best of intentions when making commitments but may fail in the follow through due to unforeseen circumstances and or poor planning. In order to protect your reputation, it’s very important to be a person of your word, ensuring that others can count on you to do what you say you will. Here are three tips to help you make the right commitments and keep them.

Keep a calendar. People who consistently keep a calendar are much better at juggling their commitments, which helps ensure they don’t over commit. If your calendar is part of your everyday life, you will always know what you can commit to, and what you can’t.

Prioritize where you will donate your time. As a leader, you are likely asked frequently to give of your time. In order to avoid being spread too thin, it is important to know which organizations have highest priority on your list. This will make it easier for you to weed out the things you simply don’t have time for when life gets busy. If you have identified volunteering at your child’s school as a top priority, for example, you will know that during busy times of the school year, you are unable to take on additional volunteer activities. When things slow down, perhaps during summer vacation, you can take on volunteer work with another group.

Learn to say “no”. Many of us hate saying no, particularly to a good cause. But, it is better to say no upfront when you know your schedule doesn’t really allow the time to do what you’re asked than to back out at the last moment or do a poor job because you were out of time.

Communicate proactively. Let people know when you’ve run into an obstacle. For example, if you promised a customer an answer to his question today, but you still don’t have the answer, it’s critical to call him today anyway. Giving him the update that you are still waiting for an answer and giving him a new commitment for getting back to him will assure him that you are someone he can count on to do what you say.

Being a person others can count on is an important character trait. Your reputation and your personal brand depend upon your ability to keep your word consistently.

Leadership is stressful. It becomes even more so when work disasters happen or things don’t go as planned. However, it is particularly important to be careful how you behave during the worst of times. It is during these times that you create a lasting reputation for your leadership style.

Some people are naturally calm in the face of trouble. Most people, however, are known to overreact from time to time. For some people, it is certain circumstances that cause upset, while for others, the negative reaction is based more on their current mood at the time or how well other things are going.

Regardless of what sets you off, it’s important to know when you are getting angry, and to take action before you lose your cool. It is ok to show that you are human, but it undermines you as a leader when you lose control. Walk through these four steps when you feel a meltdown coming on.

Take a deep breath and think about the situation for a minute. Don’t speak immediately, particularly if you will be speaking in anger.

Determine if you must take action immediately. In many cases, it’s ok to wait until you’ve cooled off to decide how to handle the situation.

Formulate a plan. When you’re able to do so objectively, create a plan to fix the problem, as best you can.

Take steps to ensure it doesn’t happen again. One of the best ways to avoid losing your cool is to take any measures possible to prevent being in the negative situation in the first place. As part of this step, it’s important to make certain that people involved know that the situation is unacceptable to you. This allows them to help prevent it in the future as well.

When you can handle yourself calmly in any situation, you demonstrate exceptional leadership skill. This trait will help you to make the best decisions in the worst of situations. It will also help ensure that employees and others that deal with you feel comfortable with telling you the truth and respect you for your ability to handle whatever business throws at you.

Ambitious people often spend a great deal of time working on improving their areas of weakness. This is a noble endeavor, and will help you to improve your skills and become a better leader. But, don’t make the mistake of spending so much time trying to improve in areas where you struggle that you forget to make the most of the areas where you shine. Leveraging the strengths you already possess is just as important as improving areas where you are not as adept. Here are some unique ways that leveraging your strengths can help you and your business.

1. You can take the most active role in your business where it makes the most sense. Rather than spending a lot of time trying to hone your accounting skills so that you can manage your own books, spend that time using your already powerful sales skills to bring in more business. Then, you’ll have more money to pay an accountant to manage the books.
2. You can become a leader and mentor. One of the best ways to develop your employees and others in the community is by sharing your skills as a leader and mentor. When you focus on those things you are good at, you are more able to impact and teach others.
3. You can increase the awareness of your business in your community. Leverage your skills for good, as well as in your business. Volunteer in a community organization or work in your church in an area where you excel. As you meet new people through your volunteer work, not only will you be making a difference in your community, but you will also shining a light on your particular business skills.

As a leader, it is critical to continue to grow and learn new skills. Just remember that you got where you are today because you already possess some pretty impressive abilities. Be proud of these, and use them where they can bring the most benefit to you and to others around you.

One primary sign of a good business leader is the willingness to take action when needed. Too often, problems languish due to a hesitation to make a definitive move forward. However, in addition to being willing to make a decision and take action, it is just as important for a leader to take the appropriate action at the time. Here are some tips to ensuring the action you’re about to take is the appropriate one.

1. Is it necessary? There are times when a problem doesn’t really require action. We may be tempted to take unnecessary action because we are upset or have a strong opinion on the situation at hand. But, before you make a move, consider how the scenario might play out if you do nothing. Sometimes, letting a situation resolve itself without your intervention is the best course of action.
2. Is it well thought out? Once you’ve decided that it is important to take action, it is equally important that you take the right action. Look at all your options, and choose carefully. Don’t be afraid to ask for input from those who will be affected by the actions you’re about to take.
3. Is it timely? Taking action at the wrong time can be costly. Be certain to evaluate the timing of your action. The right move at the wrong time can be just as costly as the wrong move. This is especially true of situations that involve people who may be hurt or angry. Sometimes, a cooling off period will change perspective on the situation.

One of the marks of a great leader is the ability to make good decisions and move forward, even in times of uncertainty, and even when these decisions must be made quickly. However, even in the most urgent of times, it pays to take a minute and ask yourself the three questions mentioned above before you make a move.